Map of countries (and successor states) that have sent humans into space as of June 2025. In dark blue are countries with own human spacecrafts.
Since the firsthuman spaceflight by theSoviet Union, citizens of 55 countries have flown in space. For each nationality, the launch date of the first mission is listed. The list is based on the nationality of the person at the time of the launch. Only 8 of 55 countries have been represented by female "first flyers" (Helen Sharman for the United Kingdom in 1991,Anousheh Ansari for Iran in 2006,Yi So-yeon for South Korea in 2008,Sara Sabry for Egypt in 2022, andKeisha Schahaff andAnastatia Mayers for Antigua and Barbuda in 2023,Namira Salim for Pakistan in 2023,Marina Vasilevskaya for Belarus in 2024,Aisha Bowe forThe Bahamas in 2025). Only three nations (Soviet Union/Russia, U.S., China) have launched their own crewed spacecraft, with the Soviets/Russians and the American programs providing rides to other nations' astronauts. Twenty-eight "first flights" occurred on Soviet or Russian flights while the United States carried twenty-six.
^abShepard's spaceflight was suborbital. The firstAmerican to be launched into Earth orbit wasJohn Glenn, on 20 February 1962.
^abcIn 1978, both Jähn himself and theGerman Democratic Republic pronounced him the "firstGerman in space", rather than the first "citizen of the German Democratic Republic in space". In 1990, the states of the former East Germany acceded to theFederal Republic of Germany. On 22 January 1992, Ulf Merbold again traveled into space, now representing thereunited Germany within the Federal Republic of Germany. Jähn is, nevertheless, still considered the first German in space, even in the states of the Federal Republic of Germany that comprised the former West Germany.
^abcdefghijklmnoThis person flew as a commercial, non-governmental space traveller. Apart from Akiyama and Sharman, these space travellers are known asspace tourists.
^abIlan Ramon was the first Israeli to go into space, but Ramon died during reentry during theSpace ShuttleColumbia disaster. His close friend and colleague,Eytan Stibbe, would later become the first Israeli to return from space alive, with the splashdown ofAxiom-1 on 25 April 2022.
^abAlthough recognized as an Iranian citizen by Iranian law, Ansari is also an American citizen and was prohibited from wearing Iranian state symbols by both the United States and Russian governments.
^abBoshuizen's flight was suborbital. The firstAustralian citizen to be launched into Earth orbit wasEric Philips, on 1 April 2025.
^abcThis was a suborbital flight aboard a SpaceShipTwo vehicle. SpaceShipTwo flights surpass the U.S. definition of spaceflight (50 mi (80.47 km)), but fall short of the Kármán line (100 km (62.14 mi)), the FAI definition used for most space recordkeeping.
^Wang was born inChina but lives primarily inSvalbard and since 2023 is also a citizen ofMalta andSaint Kitts and Nevis through theirgolden visa programs. He will wear the flag of Malta on his spacesuit during the spaceflight.[5]
Paul D. Scully-Power, first launched 5 October 1984, was born inAustralia, but was an American citizen when he went into space; Australian law at the time forbade dual-citizenship.
Taylor Gun-Jin Wang, first launched 29 April 1985, was born inChina to Chinese parents, but was an American citizen when he went into space.
Patrick Baudry, first launched 17 June 1985, was born in FrenchCameroun (now part ofCameroon), but was a French citizen when he went into space.
Shannon Lucid, first launched 17 June 1985, was born inChina to American parents of European descent, and was an American citizen when she went into space.
Franklin Chang-Diaz, first launched 12 January 1986, was born inCosta Rica, but was an American citizen when he went into space[6]
Talgat Musabayev, first launched 1 July 1994, was born in theKazakh SSR and is known in Kazakhstan as the "first cosmonaut of independent Kazakhstan",[7] but was a Russian citizen when he went into space.[8]
Andy Thomas, first launched 19 May 1996, was born inAustralia but likePaul D. Scully-Power was an American citizen when he went to space; Australian law at the time forbade dual-citizenship.
Carlos I. Noriega, first launched 15 May 1997, was born inPeru, but was an American citizen when he went into space.
Bjarni Tryggvason, launched 7 August 1997, was born inIceland, but was a Canadian citizen when he went into space.
Salizhan Sharipov, first launched 22 January 1998, was born inKyrgyzstan (then theKirghiz SSR), but was a Russian citizen when he went into space. Sharipov is ofUzbek ancestry.
Philippe Perrin, first launched 5 June 2002, was born inMorocco, but was a French citizen when he went into space.
